A new line of books that decentre colonial models of literature and thought

BY PAUL JUNOR

There is some exciting news for the literary community.

Dionne Brand was born in Trinidad and has received worldwide recognition as a: poet, novelist, non-fiction writer, filmmaker, educator and activist.

She has authored 10 books of poetry and received several awards over the years such as: the Governor General’s Award for Poetry and the Trillium Book Award in 1997, the Pat Lowther Memorial Award in 2002 and the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2011. Between 2009 and 2012, she had the honour of serving as Toronto’s third Poet Laureate. In addition, she was named to the Order of Canada in 2017 for her contributions to Canadian literature.

Dionne has an extensive teaching career, having taught at: Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, St. Lawrence University in New York, and currently at the University of Guelph in Ontario. As a feminist, she is known for her social activism critiquing economic and political power structures and speaking out against racism, discrimination against women, and discrimination against gay and lesbian communities.

The press release by Penguin Random House states that the new publishing program, Alchemy which will be under Dionne’s editorial leadership will partner with Knopf Canada’s Publishing Director Lynn Henry, as well as be in collaboration and guidance of Publisher Martha Kanya-Forstner, to develop and publish a new line of books.

Alchemy, by Knopf’s mandate will be to create books that remake what is literary; books that reimagine genre; books that reposition our thinking about how we know what we know. There is creative and innovative visioning that is captured by what Alchemy will realize. Alchemy books will decentre colonial models of literature and thought. They will speak about our times, about precipitous climate catastrophe, and about social and political reckoning. Alchemy will explore the state and stakes of living in the contemporary world and imagine a radical vision of time.

Dionne is excited about this publishing initiative as it extends the power of her creative imagination to dream. She states, “I am looking forward to this collaboration/experiment in Alchemy with Lynn Henry and Martha Kanya-Forstner. It’s my sense that how books might intervene in the present world and what complex thinking is required to meet that world, are two important and urgent questions. So for me, this collaboration will foster brilliant writers doing the most brilliant thinking in fiction and non-fiction for the world to come.”

Dionne states, “We will publish thoughtful books that attend narratively to the idea that we all live/lived these colonial processes.” A decolonizing lens will be at the forefront.

Anyone interested in learning more about the work of Dionne Brand can visit her on:

Twitter:@BrandDionne